January 27, 1999

The Editor

The Windsor Star

Dear Editor:

Re: JUST A FEW QUESTIONS THE CHIEF DIDN'T ANSWER

Thank you for continuing to educate your readers about the fatal flaws in the government's gun control legislation most commonly known as Bill C-68.  Chief of Police John Kousik was very selective about the information he provided in his guest column ("Gun control legislation in interest of public" - Windsor Star, January 22, 1999). For example:

(1) Why did the Chief fail to point out that public support for the new gun registry dropped from 86% to 43% when people were told the truth about the costs and consequences of this legislation?

(2) Why did the Chief fail to point out that 100% of the 19 Chiefs of Police in the Province of Saskatchewan oppose Bill C-68 including registration of all rifles and shotguns?

(3) Why did the Chief fail to point out that in every survey conducted of front-line police officers regarding the gun registration scheme, opposition has ranged between 76% and 91%?

(4) When spouting statistics on firearm incidents, why did the Chief fail to point out that a 1995 report by Statistics Canada stated: "Only 2% of violent crime victims encountered firearms."?

(5) When spouting more statistics about the number of firearms involved in crime, why did the Chief fail to point out that in a 1997 letter to the Department of Justice the Commissioner of the RCMP stated: "The RCMP investigated 88,162 actual violent crimes in 1993, where only 73 of these offences, or 0.08%, involved the use of firearms."?

(6) Why did the Chief fail to point out that research demonstrates conclusively that gun control laws have done nothing and will do nothing to reduce the number of suicides in Canada?

(7) Finally, why did the Chief fail to point out how the $200 million spent so far on gun registration, plus government estimates of $50 to $60 million a year (forever) might have been better used to fight real crime and real criminals instead of chasing duck hunters?

My dear Chief Kousik, for taxpayers who are counting, that's a billion dollars wasted by the year 2015. For this amount, how many more police officers could have been put on our streets and highways, how many more women's crisis centres could have been built, and how many organized crime rings busted? The people who pay you to serve and protect them await your response.

Sincerely,

Garry Breitkreuz, MP

Yorkton-Melville.